Combined shaft-support and antirattler.



No. 757,859. PATENTED APR. 19, 1904 J. C. BRIDGMAN.

COMBINED SHAFT SUPPORT AND ANTIRATTLER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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E1 1 3V1 l'uesow UNITED STATES Patented April 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

COMBINED SHAFT-SUPPORT AND ANTIRATTLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 757,859, dated April 19, 1904. Application September 22, 1903. Serial No. 174,225. (No model.)

To all 1072 0722, 7'! may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN GHAUNOY BRIDG- MAN, a cltizen of the United States, residing 'at London, in the county of Madison and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Combined Shaft-Support and Antirattler, of which the following isa specification.

The invention relates to a combined shaftsupport and antirattler.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of shaft-supports and antirattlers and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted to be readily applied to an axle and the shaft of a buggy or other vehicle and capable of supporting the shafts in an elevated position and of preventing the parts of a shaft or thill coupling from rattling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which asingle spring may be employed for engaging the thill-iron to prevent the same from rattling and for supporting the shaft or thill in an elevated position and in which any outward or -downward movement of the thill or shafts will operate to lock the parts more firmly in engagement, whereby the shafts are effectually prevented from accidentally dropping.

Another object of the invention is to arrange the spring so that the liability of the same to weaken will be reduced to a minimum.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a combined shaft-support and antirattler constructed in accordance with this invention, the shaft being out of engagement with the supporting-spring. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, theshaft being supported in an elevated position. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the spring.-

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawmgs.

l designates an axle-clip of the ordinary construction, having a clip-plate 2 and provided with a pair of forwardly-extending ears 3, which are perforated for the reception of a pivot-bolt 4, and the latter passes through an eye 5 ofa thill-iron 6, whereby the shaft or thill 7 is pivotally connected with the axle 8 in the usual manner. The thill or coupling iron 6 is secured to the shaft or thill 7, and its eye is arranged between the perforated ears 6 of an axle-clip.

In order to prevent the parts of the thillcoupling from rattling, a spring 9 is employed, and one end of the spring is arranged horizontally and provided with perforations to form an attaching portion 10, which is secured to the bottom of the axle by the nuts of the axle-clip, the threaded end portions of the clip being passed through the perforations 11 i of the attachment portion or arm of the spring.

The horizontal arm or portion 10 is fitted against the lower face of the clip-plate, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and it is located at the rear side of a depending approximately elliptical loop 13, which is located beneath the thill-coupling, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The front side of the loop is reversely curved at the top at 14 to provide an outer concave face to conform to the configuration of the coupling or thill iron 6. The spring by engaging the eye of the thill or coupling iron presses the same outward against the coupling-bolt, thereby preventing the parts from rattling. The spring is compressed in bringing it to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and it exerts suflicient pressure against the eye of the coupling or thill iron to hold the same tightly against the pivot-bolt.

The spring is provided at its upper end with a curved arm 15, which presents a front convex face and a rear concave face, the arm' 15 being curved or bowed over the top of the axle and extending upward and rearward from the eye 5 at an inclination, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The arm of the spring is engaged by a catch 16, secured to the shaft. or thill and extending downward and rearward therefrom when the shaft or thill is elevated, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper or front end of the shank'is secured to the upper face of the shaft or thill, and the other end is provided with a head beveled at the lower face and forming a shoulder at the inner end for engagement with the curved arm of the spring. By this construction a tensile or longitudinal compression strain is exerted on the curved arm of the spring by the weight of the shafts or thills, and any tendency of the shaft or thills to swing forward and downward operates to stiffen and increase the strength of the spring, as the curved arm is straightened by such operation instead of being flexed away from the center. The shank of the catch possesses sufficient resiliency to enable it to be readily disengaged from the spring, and when there is 'any pressure or strain exerted on the spring by the shafts the resilient catch cooperates with the spring-arm 15 and is partially flexed. By this construction there is no liability of the catch becoming accidentally disengaged from the end of the spring. The spring when supporting the shaft or thill is braced intermediate of its ends by its engagement with the eyes of the coupling or thill-iron, and owing to this disposition of the spring a single spring may be successfully employed for performing the double function of an antirattler and a shaft or thill support.

It will be seen that the combined shaft-support and antirattler is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it consists of a single spring secured at one end and engaging the thill-coupling at a point between its ends and having its other end arranged for supporting a shaft or thill. Furthermore, it

will be clear that the forward or downward movement of the shaft or thill from an elevated position operates to straighten the curved arm of the spring and press the resilient cap outward, thereby increasing the stiffness and tension of the supporting device and effectually preventing the spring from becoming accidentally disengaged from the catch of the shaft or thill.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A combined shaftsupport.and antirattler provided with a front side arranged to engage the eye of a shaft or thill, and extended upward above the same to support the said shaft or thill, said extended portion being bent backward and presenting aconvex front face, whereby any downward movement of the shaft or thill will operate to straighten such extended portion, substantially as described.

2. The combination with an axle, and a shaft coupled to the axle, of a combined shaft-support and antirattler comprising a resilient loop interposed between the eye of the shaft or thill and the axle, the front side of the loop being in engagement with the said eye, and

being extended upward from the eye to form a support for the shaft or thill, and means carried by the shaft or thill for connecting it with the extended portion of the front side of the loop. substantially as described.

3. A combined shaft-support and antirattler, comprising a spring formed at an intermediate point with a depending loop designed to be located beneath a thill-coupling, and provided at one end with means for connecting it rigidly with an axle, the intermediate portion of the spring-above the loop bearing against the thill-eye, and said spring being extended from the thill-eye-engaging portion backward and upward over the axle presenting a convex front face, the outer upper end being free, and a catch mounted rigidly on the shaft or thill and constructed to engage with and abut against the upper free end of the spring, substantially as described.

In testimony thatIclaim the foregoing as my ownIhave hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN CHAUNCY BRIDGMAN.

Witnesses:

G. W. LEWIS, S. P. WILSON. 

